FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13^th, 2013 

Paulsen: Work Requirement Key to Welfare Program Success 

House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Preserve Welfare Work Requirement

Washington, D.C. – Representative Erik Paulsen (MN-03) today voted in favor of the “Preserving Work Requirement’s for Welfare Programs Act”, legislation rejecting the Administration’s plan to allow states to waive work requirements for welfare recipients. Work requirements were first created in the 1996 welfare reform law, and have been a key to increasing work and earnings, and reducing poverty and welfare dependence. No prior Administration ever claimed to be able to waive welfare work requirements, and according to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, waiving the important requirement would increase welfare spending by $61 million.  

“Simply put, requiring welfare recipients to work, works. Since its inclusion in the 1996 welfare reform law, the work requirement has helped countless Americans get the training, education, and ultimately the jobs they need,” said Rep. Paulsen. “Restoring the welfare work requirement shows that Congress is serious about reducing poverty and welfare dependence, and increasing employment and earnings. The Senate should join the House is rejecting the Administration’s illegal waiver so we can get back to the important task of strengthening the TANF program.”

READ Rep. Paulsen’s recent blog post on preserving the welfare work requirement. 

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Rep. Paulsen’s work in Congress visit www.paulsen.house.gov.

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